stone, i.f. stone from i.f. stone's weekly. but mainly the people at the star. there were great reporters at the star. this was a great newspaper. at the time, the washington post had, deservedly so, a reputation to some extent for slanting stories, and it did, particularly in its local coverage. and the star really had the best of old-fashioned journalistic play-it-straight values. and it had some great reporters as well as some real characters straight out of the front page. they've outlawed characters now in newsrooms. yes, there are no longer characters. they're not permitted. they have rogues in newsrooms right now. there's no smoking, no drinking, and no cussing. so from those--that beginning-- what an extraordinary beginning. 'cause you saw america's newsrooms as they-- at their most vibrant, really. and-- when i went to work at the washington post, i thought i was going to work for an insurance company. i really did. and your career moved pretty quickly. i mean, you had a head start like very few people have had. did the post recruit you? no, no, not at